Heading towards year 2 exams (uni 2017)

[brizzlemint]

Starting uni 2017 continued.
Tales of radiators, errant boilers, tomatoes and potato mashers...oh and university students.

DS is now in his house. It's a bit grim but up to him I him I guess. I wouldn't stay in it, that's for sure!

His room has a fire escape door which is the only natural light. It's half panelled, not sure how hard it'd be to break into. 🙄 At least he can get out quickly if needed to I suppose.
No locks on the interior doors and the kitchen 😮 - it is literally a 60cm oven and a normal depth (60cm?) work surface wide, so 4ft wide by about 6 ft long in total - partitioned off from the lounge space!

Hello, Ono.👋 There should be a few of us still around next year. After that we could always keep it going with a first jobs thread.

ono, law - yes as far as I know. I am obviously very pleased as their sisters and I love it but tehre is certainly no pressure for any particular career at all from my side. I think they are going to apply next month for the course starting September 2020. It is a difficult year as it is just about the last under the existing qualification system for solicitors so some law schools are changing courses from them but some students will be under the existing and some under the new system. They will probably live at home in outer London for the 2 years as their sisters did. I think they have decided that - it was one reason the one who just moved bed rooms at home wanted a bigger new desk but we shall see.

Some of their friends have already decided the year after too. I think a couple are doing a masters. one is on a language degree so has another year anyway. It will certainly be interesting to see where they end up.

I think this week is freshers week in Bristol and lectures start next week. One has scaffolding outside his bed room and no view at all and his friend who arrived first had to have the landlord take down the boarding up of the windows too which was even worse. I hope it is down soon as I have paid 6 months of rent alreayd - 3 months for the summer when it was empty and 3 to end of year and all he hsa had so far for that is 3 days in a room where you cannot see out. The works' timing on the building did not work out as the landlord had hoped. I suppose it's better than a neglected place.

Glad to hear others are settling in.

Good luck to the medics. My brother is a consultant as was my father and my uncle was a doctor too.

My father was quite good at DIY, self taught. May be it goes with medicine although I suspect in his day it was lack of money. He converted our whole attic floor and much else.

DD has a friend interested in that field from the engineering side,needs, it sounds like it'll be an interesting area.

That does sound grim, Horsemad. He'll certainly appreciate home comforts when he is home for the holidays!
The student house I lived in for 3 years wasn't as bad as some but it was pretty basic. I think it made me more appreciative of homes I've had subsequently than my DH who lived in Halls for 3 years and then moved back home to his parents until we got married.

Not a regular poster on here but hope you will allow me in . DD1 now year 3 Edinburgh and dropped dd2 to start at Bristol this weekend. Enjoyed wandering around Clifton this weekend but Xenia wondering where the students look for flats for year 2 onwards. Assume but could be wrong Clifton area too expensive ?

Welcome olliepolly, we have a few posters here with DC in Bristol and I'm sure any of them will be willing to help with info 🙂

Welcome, Olliepolly, this is a lovely thread to be on.

Welcome Olliepolly and hello ono. Like Errol's DD, DD1 is doing an integrated Masters so is halfway through. She goes back on Saturday but is then going back to Germany to see her bf again for a few days by coach.

Dropped DD2 at Leicester on Saturday. It was a bit different from Cambridge but very well organised and they have put together lots of ways of getting them to mix and socialise. From Saturday evening it'll be just me and DH until they come back in December, thankfully for space reasons on separate weekends although I am not overjoyed by all the driving after a full week of work.

Ds is also another one only half way through...he's in Scotland so doing 4 yr BSc. Just had his first fieldwork of the term , soil coring by a river, which he loved!
He's joined the sub aqua club this year, as learnt to scuba when volunteering in S Africa earlier this summer....he wants to do MSc in Ocean Science, so seems like a useful skill to have , plus it's another activity with which to meet people
I'm currently on holiday with dh and house will be empty when we return...middle dd who graduated in summer is off traveling until end of October , before working in France come December. Eldest dd is also working abroad, in Far East, ( although will be home for 4 months in a fortnight ) so planning a family weekend in country hotel in Scotland before they all disperse again ...it's complicated trying to communicate with them all in different time zones!

My twins found their year 2 houses in Bristol and signed up for them before they left in December of year 1. Most people did too. They both had a lead person in their group of friends who seemed to contact the estate agents and fix things up and they just turned up to look so they were not prime movers really in hunting places down.

In year 2 they lived in houses for about 7 or 8 people BS6 - Redland. In year 3 they are slightly closer in BS8 Clifton and th other one a flat in BS1 which is even more central.

All I know is that in that first term in year 1 one of them found his house via agents called Abode www.yourabode.co.uk/ who seemed very set up for students and organised.

The hardest thing though for most people who you want to share with and who will you still stand in a year's time etc. It is very early to take those decisions. Also people need to eam up with people with simialr budgets. Year 2 house for one of mine was £490 a month each person (plus bills which they separately organised). Some people divide it up so someone with a very small room pays less than the others.

Year 3 house BS8 one is £535 a month (paid every 3 months in advance).is £535 each a month which includes a cleaner this year and 6 of them are sharing.

Day 2 and DS has already been scammed - sort of. So I am warning you all about this to pass on tips to your DCs - there are some scurrilous rogues out there.

He has a TV licence included in bills for his house (he has moved into a new place with people who were there last year so he didn't know what was included in the bills package). Today someone knocked at the door purporting to be from TV licence revenue collection, told him they didn't have a licence and coerced him into signing up for a direct debit and paying the first instalment on the spot to 'avoid a hefty fine'. Now I'd have sent him on his merry way with the addition of a flea in his ear but he put the frightners on DS with his heavy handed attitude.

Long story short - DS signed up and then range me a couple of hours letter when common sense set in and he began to have doubts. His bank investigated and it looks like this may have been genuine rather than a scam BUT I do not think TV revenue should be employing these sort of sharks. And lesson learnt - never, even sign up for anything on the doorstep! He has had to cancel his card and spend ages on the phone to the bank. He has cancelled the direct debit and the bank said they would refund the £37.

And to think DH works in cyber security and we talk about fraud and scams all the time......

Thanks Xenia that’s really interesting. I agree re too early to decide and can leave some either left out or with the wrong crowd. Anyway at least I get the picture and can support when the time comes.

ON the TV licence point that's awful. He shyould check his landlord does not pretend TV licence is included but not pay it and therefore I suppose the men on the door may not have been in the wrong. I suppose the next stage is to ask the landlord to send a copy of the TV licence so you have the proof either way.

Hi all - I lurk and occasionally post but dd is also in Scotland and now just beginning 3rd year having had a busy summer with some work experience and a trip related to a student society which she really enjoyed.

Hello readsalotgirl63 🙂 do you find their time at university has gone really quickly?
I can't quite get my head round the fact that DS is a 3rd year student!

@Horsemad I can't believe that dd1 still has the equivalent of a whole degree still to do! Sorry that his house isnt very nice but no doubt it will feel better once its "lived in".

Hi RedHelenB, yes your DD has still got a way to go 🙂 How is she getting on?
DS is considering doing a Masters, which means I'll still have good reason to visit the city! 😄 Hoping to pop up early Nov for a weekend trip - I'll be in the hotel though, not his house!!

@Horsemad - yes I thinks it's astonishing that they are in 3rd year - seems like only yesterday we dropped her off. DD also plans to do a postgrad qualification - so I'll need to keep working

I've found you all again!

@olliepolly, I'd say really similar to Xenia, DDs Y2 house for 6 in Redland was about £500 a month plus bills, and her BS8 Clifton house for 5 is slightly less?

NMS, DD rang DH earlier with pics of a leak - their sitting room is in the basement and it seems to be seeping up from below - hope the dodgy landlord agrees to do something pronto or she will be calling for your DD

We are currently in Durham - DS starts uni tomorrow!

@Horsemad, DD is considering a Masters too...

@NMS, re DDs basement flood, the landlord has been round and it is going to have to be tanked out. 3+ weeks of work, nowhere to relax/eat properly.... Nightmare. Any advice? How much rent should be refunded?

bigTillyMint I looked up the prices at the Royal County a couple of days ago by way of showing DS just how much they charge up for premium days such as freshers' drop off day etc - £458 for a standard room . (This was by way of saying I really, really need to know when your graduation day is as soon as you get it - I've never known any other hotel ramp up its prices so much. Captive market though, pretty much. Top tip for three years' time!).

Just seen your post re tanking - nightmare. What a ghastly situation for your DD.

By which I mean if you get in early for premium days you'll only get charged the standard tip off price but leave it any longer and you'll get the uber rip off price, which can be astronomical.

Cafedral on the approach to Palace Green helps on drop off day. Lovely lunches, cakes and coffee.

Good choice of college incidentally!

(If I read one of your other posts right).